


Fallen Lord, Alternate

by Ravenoftheskyes



Series: Fallen Heroes: Fortuna Entertainment [2]
Category: Fire Emblem Heroes, Genei Ibun Roku #FE | Tokyo Mirage Sessions #FE
Genre: Fortuna Idols, Gen, here we go again
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-06
Updated: 2020-11-06
Packaged: 2021-03-09 02:29:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,214
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27417304
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ravenoftheskyes/pseuds/Ravenoftheskyes
Summary: We know the story of one Fallen Lord. But... the second. We don’t know his story.We don’t know the tragic life of this Itsuki Aoi....Sometimes, heroes fall even without their own consent.
Relationships: Aoi Itsuki & Chiki | Tiki, Aoi Itsuki & Summoner | Eclat | Kiran
Series: Fallen Heroes: Fortuna Entertainment [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1943677
Comments: 26
Kudos: 11





	Fallen Lord, Alternate

“Itsuki!” 

His name was the last thing that Itsuki Aoi heard before he lost himself.

Medeus lets a soul free from him… and it’s a soul by the name of Validar. 

He falls into Itsuki’s chest, and… something happens…

Burning. That’s what he feels. A burning sensation. 

_ No…! _

He feels his body rising. The wound in his chest closes. 

His hair burns, and it turns white. 

His cheek burns, and the brand of Grima is placed upon it. 

His eyes burn, and they turn yellow. 

His entire body burns, and his clothes are replaced with the robes of a Grimleal. 

He falls to the ground, and he can feel a sword in his hands. 

Something repeats in his mind. 

_ Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill them. Kill them. Kill them.  _

Itsuki tries to drown it out. 

_ That song… what was that song?! The one that Mom wanted me to practice for Fortuna’s 5th anniversary…! R-Right!  _

_ Come on and smile, smile, come on and smile for me, it’s going to be alright!  _

It didn’t work. His feet began to move without his consent. 

_ N-No…! No no no!! _

He feels his sword clash against a lance. 

“Itsuki…?! What are you…?!” Tsubasa says, and he feels the lance press into his skin. 

“R-Run...! I can’t stop, save yourselves!” He said, as his eyes flashed back to normal and a bit of blue returned to his hair. The brand on his cheek vanished. 

“Itsuki, we’re not leaving you!”

“Do it! Please...! I’m... rrgh...!”

His eyes turned yellow once again. 

“...You’ll fall by my hand.” He says, all emotion in his voice gone. 

Itsuki watches from inside his head, powerless to stop his body from killing each one of his friends. 

_ T-Tsubasa! _

“Itsuki… I know it’s not your fault… please, don’t blame yourself…”

_ Touma…! _

“C-Come on. The hero’s supposed to break free. I… I guess I won’t see that happening. Please, do it. For me?”

_ Kiria, no! _

“Itsuki… please, if you can keep control of yourself for long enough… try to let the rest of them escape…!”

_ E-Ellie…! _

“Come on, Itsuki. Third act twist. You’ve got this.” 

_ No… no! Not Mamori! _

“Itsuki-nii… I forgive you… and I’ll never forgive Medeus for doing this to you…”

Yashiro bolted and held his sword to Itsuki’s neck. A bit of blood dripped from his neck, and suddenly he had the slightest bit of control. 

“Yashiro… please… kill me…”

“I… I…” Yashiro’s eyes widened slightly under his visor. 

“Do it. That’s an order from your leader. Survive. Please.”

“...I can’t…”

Yashiro removed the sword from Itsuki’s neck and Itsuki felt it heal. 

_ Yashiro… why didn’t you?! _

And then Itsuki felt his sword collide with flesh. 

“...I know it’s not your fault, Itsuki. I was weak.” 

And Yashiro slumped to the ground, falling out of his Carnage Form. 

Itsuki realized something. 

_ When I’m in pain… I can control myself… _

And so he willed his arms to just move. And he cut himself on the arm. 

And when he regained control of his body, and saw the blood on his hands and all the bodies around him… he screamed. 

Fell to the ground, crying. 

“I’m sorry, I’m so sorry! I hope that was a lie! I hope you never forgive me for what I did!”

And then he noticed something.

Tiki, in the back, holding a pair of bodies. 

“M-Mom… Barry…!” Itsuki said. “When did I kill them…?! I don’t remember that part!”

Tiki looked up. 

“They were struck by a stray bolt of lightning. They’re not built to handle it. They didn’t blame you, big bro.”

_ But I do…! _

He felt his cheeks become soaked with tears, and he hated himself. 

“Come on. I’m a mirage, I won’t go down like this.” Tiki whispers. “I’m not built for battle. I can’t be killed.” 

“W-What…?”

Tiki put her hands on Itsuki’s cheek, and wiped away some of the tears. 

“I’ll find a way to save you. The Opera of Shadows will become unfinished if you’re gone. Run. I’ll find you, big bro. I’ll find you with a cure. A way to save you from this. So… go! Run! Keep control as long as you can! I… I will save you, big bro! So keep running!” 

And that’s just what Itsuki did. 

For months, he attempted to resist. Avoided areas with people. Avoided Idolaspheres. More and more cuts and scars littered his skin. Burns soon joined them. All covered by the sleeves of his robe. 

_ Come on and smile, smile, come on and smile for me, it’s going to be alright… _

That was practically a lullaby. It wasn’t going to be alright. It would never be alright. 

He’d hear “Kowashitai” and he’d sob. 

A commercial for Microwavin’ with Mamorin or Masqueraider Ouga? More tears. 

And just more and more cuts and burns across his skin. 

And one desperate attempt to end it all. 

_ This is it. When I fall into hell and get what I deserve, They’ll finally be able to rest.  _

The Levin Sword goes straight into his stomach, and he thinks that’s it. It’s over. 

But Validar. He’s still there. 

_ This isn’t just your body anymore, Lordling. Treat your guests with respect. _

And he feels his stomach be healed. 

_ You’re not a part of me. Chrom was a part of me. He accepted that he and I were separate. He and I had two different bodies, and we were linked. You are a parasite.  _

_ Tsk, tsk. Relax now.  _

And Itsuki feels his consciousness fading. 

He wakes up in another world. More blood on his hands. He looks around him and he sees a person in a white robe. 

“My name is Kiran.” She replies. “Who are you?”

Itsuki’s consciousness is relegated to the back, as Validar takes over. 

“My name is Itsuki Aoi, and I am the lead actor in the Opera of Shadows.”

The sword is back in his hands, and he is asked to fight. And that is what he does. 

With every attack, he tries to control the smallest things. The position of his feet, so that he trips and cuts his arm. 

And eventually, he gets hit to the point where he is able to control himself. 

A girl, Elise? Right. That was her name. She tries to heal him. 

“Wait, sto-!” The yellow returns to his eyes and Validar takes control. “Thank you.” His mouth moves. 

He notices the concerned looks that he gets, when his sleeves are ripped and everyone notices the scars. The scars that are so unmistakably from his own sword. 

He doesn’t care. 

One day, after a fight… he meets… himself? Is that really how he was? So energetic and full of life? 

“...You’re… Itsuki Aoi?” 

The other Itsuki looks over. 

“...Who are you, again? Sorry, I don’t seem to remember.”

“I’m you… but I have fallen. I killed them. Eight out of ten.”

The other Itsuki’s eyes widen, and he reels back. 

“You… are me… eight out of ten…? You and who else?”

“I can’t kill Tiki, now can I? She’s incorporeal. But… the rest of them? Tsubasa, Touma, Kiria, Ellie, Mamori, Yashiro, Mo…” He stopped for a second and then caught his breath. “Maiko and Barry? They’re mortal. They can die easily.”

The other Itsuki looks over with rage. 

“You’re not me, and I’ll  _ never  _ be like you. We share a name, nothing more.” He spits. And he turns on his heel and walks away. 

_ Good. Don’t be like me. Please.  _

He sees the alternate versions of his friends smile at him. Their Itsuki never told them, it seems. 

Kiran looks for him during the moments that he’s himself. He resists healers because they give Validar full control back. 

And he speaks. He tries to get bits of his memory back in the moments that he can take control of himself. 

“...Tsubasa... why did I...?!” 

He would cry… and then… 

“Agh! ...I am a servant of Medeus and Grima, nothing more.”

It repeated like that. Over and over. 

“I remember, Yashiro... he opened up to me at the end... and then I-I… Rrgh...! Nothing. Nothing matters. Nothing matters except my masters.”

Kiran kept silent and listened. She worked with Tiki. She was trying her best to find a way to save him. 

“Touma... you wanted to be a hero just to make children smile... and I ended that dream...! Argh! No...!” 

And then his voice fell back to monotony. 

“...I must complete the Opera of Shadows” 

Kiran was trying. She was trying so hard to find a way to help that didn’t require Itsuki almost dying. 

“Ellie... all you wanted was to be accepted... and I destroyed that dream... by killing the only ones who accepted you, including myself! I’m so-No! ...She doesn’t matter. None of them do.”

Validar came back every time. 

The scars and burns littering Itsuki’s arms only grew in number. 

The healers grew concerned. And Kiran kept listening. 

“Mamori... you used to call me your big brother. I’m sorry I failed you-! N-No! Argh! ...what was I saying? All that matters is the opera.”

Itsuki noticed his other self almost treating him… better? He noticed the alternate versions of his friends doing nice things for him. It was painful. 

“P-Please, just stop…” He muttered. “It hurts too much.”

They didn’t stop. 

And Kiran kept listening. 

“Kiria... right, you wanted to become a better version of yourself... and I... I ended that dream... when I kille-! Agh! ...The opera. I must complete the opera.”

He learned about Kiran slowly. She, Alfonse, and Sharena were only around his age. 

Kiran rarely took off her hood, but when she did, a long, lilac braid would fall out of it.

And she kept listening. 

“Tiki... oh Tiki, I promised I’d always visit you! And I broke that promise and killed all of us! You’ll be lonely! Please, don’t forgi-! Rrgh! Shadows are all I need. Attachments are trivial.”

She had a pained expression on her face whenever she saw Validar return. 

“Maiko... mom... I remember when I first called you that. I was terrified, and then you hugged me and were just so happy that I loved you. And then I killed you! I’m so-! ...I don’t care about her. I only care about the opera.”

Kiran’s frowns only grew deeper. 

“Barry... you were like a fun uncle, weren’t you? You annoyed the hell out of me sometimes, but I really cared about you! I’m sorr-! ...no. He repulsed me. The shadows. I must complete the opera of shadows.”

Sometimes there were moments when Itsuki was already gone again by the time she got there. 

“I am Itsuki Aoi, lead actor in the opera of shadows. I will not rest until I have completed it.”

And sometimes there were moments when he’d beg her to stop him… and Validar would come back. 

“Summoner, please! Stop me! If you must, kill me! I have to repay for my sins! I... I...! Argh! Summoner, forgive me. I was acting strangely.”

The yellow returning to his eyes was never a happy moment. Kiran spent her other moments with the Itsuki that was still… himself. 

She took notes. 

Itsuki Aoi cares about his friends above all else. 

Itsuki Aoi loves food. 

Itsuki Aoi is dense as can be, but his friends still love him. 

Itsuki Aoi’s greatest fear is accidentally hurting his friends, whether physically or mentally. 

...She put a star next to the last one. 

And so she put her research into action. 

She’d give him the Askran cuisine and smile when he sprung into action to describe it. 

Those moments were fleeting and precious. 

She realized that this Itsuki… all his fears had been realized. And she told the other Itsuki this. 

The other Itsuki realized that they were one and the same… and yet, he still couldn’t bring himself to face himself. And really, who could blame him?

At level 40, Itsuki slashes his arm and walks over to the summoner. 

“Summoner, ever since I got here, you’ve seen me. You know I don’t... want to be like this. I met myself, you know? I wished I was him again. Tsubasa, Kiria, Mamori, Touma, Yashiro, Ellie, even Tiki. They’re all here. And they’re not mine.” 

Itsuki took a deep breath and continued. 

“They don’t hate me for what I did. They don’t even know what I did, and it’s killing me. I just want you to know... thank you. In battle, even just for a bit, I am myself again.”

Itsuki’s hands shake, and his eyes flash yellow for a split second. 

“I am Itsuki Aoi... and I wish I had never hurt my friends. I wish I hadn’t killed them all. And I hope that they hate me for it in heaven. Thank you for listening, Summoner. I hope the other me sees me as... a cautionary... tale...! Agh!”

Validar takes control once again. 

And Kiran’s eyes are cast down. 

_ How can I save you, Itsuki?! How can I do it without killing you?! _

The next battle, Itsuki is defeated by an enemy. And he cries out two words. Those two words stab Kiran directly in the heart. 

“T-Thank you!” He yells to the enemy. 

And Kiran continues to fight in the background, trying to help the Lordling with a war that was impossible. 

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [Ghost Rule – Itsuki's Growl](https://archiveofourown.org/works/27454969) by [Mahoustar](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mahoustar/pseuds/Mahoustar)




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